What Wharton experts say about how consumer decisions affect marketing strategies:
MARISSA SHARIF SAYS THAT BASED ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR RESEARCH, MARKETERS SHOULD “USE CONFIRMATION NUDGES IN WIN-WIN CONTEXTS.” This is because the research shows that there are “stronger effects when consumers stand to benefit and weaker effects when the nudged option is clearly undesirable.”
Sharif also noted that timing matters: “post-purchase confirmation nudges may be one particularly promising option because they may preserve the choice-shifting upside while reducing abandonment.” (Source)
WHEN DISCUSSING CONSUMER RESEARCH STRATEGIES, KATY MILKMAN SAYS THAT “BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE SHOWS US THAT YOU WANT TO MAKE IT AS SIMPLE AND EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO GAIN INFORMATION and access to resources.” However, she also noted that “when people are inundated with information, it’s easy to ignore it. Sometimes, a little friction in the form of a question posed before an answer is provided can create curiosity and a desire for answers.”
Milkman considered these factors when developing research that uncovered that communicators “could do better if we can create these interactive, quiz-like messages to get people interested in going beyond this one nugget of information.” She emphasized that “you want to keep them asking questions and looking for more.” (Source)
JONAH BERGER RECENTLY RELEASED A RESEARCH PAPER DESIGNED “TO ENCOURAGE MARKETERS TO THINK MORE ABOUT CONFIDENCE. Both how it changes, and about its impact”
“There’s been a lot of research leveraging online reviews. But there’s been less work taking the same person and looking at how their language changes over time,” Berger said. “It’s almost an ongoing stream of information about how they feel about a brand, or a political candidate, or whatever it may be. We found a consistent pattern across multiple domains in this U shape.” (Source)
PINAR YILDIRIM RECENTLY EXPLAINED HOW FIRING UP YOUR POLITICAL BASE CAN BACKFIRE. She says the crux of her research suggests “when you try to appeal to one group you may end up alienating another.”
She went on to say that “politicians almost have to play this game: They make attention-grabbing statements to appeal to their core supporters, knowing those messages may also reach voters they were not meant for.”
Yildirim’s research also shows that election outcomes depend not only on what politicians say, but also on which messages the media choose to run. “Once you factor in media coverage, campaign behavior that looks puzzling starts to make sense,” Yildirim said. (Source)
